


pull me in like a riptide

by midnights



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Beaches, College, Drinking, Drinking Games, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Humor, M/M, Road Trips, Sexual Jenga, Swimming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-07
Updated: 2014-07-07
Packaged: 2018-02-07 19:34:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1911132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnights/pseuds/midnights
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>it’s the last summer before harry goes away to college, which, of course, means a road trip from maine to miami.</p><p>ft. beaches, giggles, boardwalks, and a very drunk game of sexual jenga.</p>
            </blockquote>





	pull me in like a riptide

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mightaswellll](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mightaswellll/gifts).



> just a disclaimer, i've only been to two of the places the boys drive to, so forgive me if its not all geographically correct.
> 
> otherwise, enjoy !!
> 
> (title is from Emblem3's "Tequila Sunrise")

It's the last summer with all of the lads together for a long, long time.

Harry's going to a new college in the fall, Louis' going back home to New York, Zayn's taking a semester off to go travel Istanbul and Brazil, Liam's headed to Brazil and they're meeting in October, and Niall's going to San Francisco until Christmas.

But they've still got time. It's only July.

The crackling fire in front of Louis sends a shower of sparks into the air, lighting up the faces of his friends. It's a bit sad, really. This is their last summer together, and they're sitting around a fire drinking beer at Zayn's. Louis is sat next to Harry and Niall, the latter of whom is currently kicking him in the shin over and over. Only his love for Niall and his lack of energy prevent Louis from lashing out at him.

"Niall," Louis says quietly, politely.

"Hm?" Niall asks, taking a pull of his beer.

"Kick me again," He says softly, "And I'll punch you in the throat so hard you won't be able to talk for days." He gives Niall a sweet smile. Niall cackles and stops kicking him.

"Guys, this is it." Liam says, frowning. Zayn slings an arm around his shoulders.

"Aw, Li." He cooes, and Liam glares at him.

"No, really. We need to do something special." Liam says.

"Vacation?" Louis suggests.

"Nah." Zayn wrinkles his nose. "'ve got a big vacation coming up."

"Stop bragging." Louis snorts.

"Road trip?" Niall suggests.

Four heads slowly turn towards the voice. It's perfect. Days of driving together, cheap hotels, _beaches_. Niall grins wildly as they nod.

"Yeah, where should we go?" Harry asks, impaling another marshmallow on his stick and holding it over the fire.

"Warm places." Zayn says.

Louis nods. "Yeah, maybe me and Liam can surf."

"That's all you two ever want to do, isn't it?" Niall wrinkles his nose.

"You don't get it, then. You've never been surfing." Louis says.

Harry snorts. "What's to get? You stand on a board and ride the waves in."

Liam rolls his eyes at them. "It's not like that, though. You've got to feel it." Louis’ tried to teach them - but they always refuse.

Louis thinks there's no greater feeling than surfing. It's that feeling of being part of the ocean, really riding on top of the world. Surfing is freedom, adventure and creativity rolled into one. He may be tired, sore, busy, or tied up with work, but he'll always, always look forward to it. When he rides, he wants to suspend time. He paddles hard and charge in and rip it up or chill out and ride easy. It feels like he's like a bird riding on the wind. He can feel nature's energy in the waves as he catches it. He can cut through the water and glide effortlessly. Sometimes it bends around him so he can ride inside. Surfers call it the tube. It's almost a spiritual feeling of being closer to what made him a surfer. Then, just as quick as it came, it dies on the shore, and he's already looking for the next one.

"Oooh, sure." Zayn rolls his eyes at him.

Louis looks over at Harry. Even after all these years, he still gets butterflies when he sees him. Harry looks back at him and winks, and Louis laughs. Harry scoots his chair over closer to Louis and rests his legs in his lap. Groaning, Louis whacks his shin, but Harry just laughs.

"Where d'you want to go?" Harry asks him over the sound of the other boys' bickering.

Louis shrugs. "Just want a beach."

"We could go down the coast." Harry pulls his silly headscarf out of his hair to retie it.

"Like, from where?" Louis snatches the headscarf. Harry frowns at him.

"Guys." Harry says. Liam, Niall, and Zayn turn to look at him. "We could, like, start in Maine, and then work our way down the coast to Florida. That way you guys can surf, and we can… we can _tan_."

Louis snorts. Harry doesn't tan. He burns, and then gets tan when the burn fades.

"I like that. We can catch a flight to Maine, or drive up, but I don't want to do any more driving than required. Anyway, we can take a flight, then drive all the way down through beaches and go to Florida. Like, Miami." Zayn adds.

Niall perks up a bit at that. "Yeah, I went there when I was little. South Beach is the best."

Liam snorts. "When did _you_ ever go on vacation?"

Niall throws a marshmallow at his forehead.

"When should we go?" Harry asks.

"Soon."

☼

"Roll down the fucking window, we're at the _beach_." Louis groans, whacking Harry's arm.

"Focus on the road!" Niall yells from the couch.

Louis rolls his eyes and looks back at the road in front of him. They rented a van-a big, light blue Volkswagen Bus with a surfboard rack on top. What once were cracked and peeling leather seats has been redone and is now two couches that face each other and a minifridge, counter, and sink on the side opposite the door. There's sand all over the floor, and there's a compartment under each couch with room for ice and drinks.

This is gonna be a great trip.

The van rumbles past tiny, colorful little cottages across from the beach, beach chairs and towels and flip flops littering the porches. On the other side of the street, right on the sand, huge houses with large porches and decks line the dunes.

"What number are we?" Liam calls from the back. Louis glances at the number on his hand.

"Eighteeeeeeeeeen." Louis draws the word out.

"Are the other boys behind us? I can't tell." Zayn looks out the window and frowns.

Calum, Luke, Michael, Ashton, and Gemma (Gemma was only invited to have an even ten) are in another van that Zayn's father rented. Louis checks in the rearview mirror. Ashton, who's driving, and Calum (in the passenger seat) each flip him off and make a face.

Louis laughs, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, they're behind."

"Where's the house?" Harry asks, sitting up straighter to see.

"It was white in the picture." Louis says.

" _Ooh_!" Zayn yells. "At the corner, there it is."

Louis looks where Zayn’s pointing. He's right. On their left, up at the corner, stands a large, white house with slightly chipped paint and a huge deck overlooking the beach. Unlike the house they're renting in South Carolina, there's no pool. Louis parks the van in the driveway and unplugs his phone from where it was providing the music for their drive. He grabs his bag and tosses Harry's to him, then hops out of the car.

The house looks great. There's a big window on the first floor, and Louis can see the large couch and TV inside, along with the newly finished kitchen. Louis makes sure to be the first through the door, pushing Niall and Calum out of the way to shove the door open. He drops his bag almost as soon as he gets inside, then runs into the kitchen and grabs the keys off the table.

"Ooh, _yeah_. All mine for two nights." Louis makes a face at Calum, who smacks the side of his head. "Ow."

"Hey, watch yourself, Cal. Might have to teach you a lesson next time." Harry frowns at Calum, sitting on the black marble counter.

Louis scoffs, and Calum laughs. "You're about as intimidating as a kitten, Styles." Louis rolls his eyes.

"Hurtful." Harry frowns.

"Shit, this is nice." Liam says as he comes in. Everyone else is behind him.

Gemma flops down on the couch, and Ashton lays down on the floor next to her, groaning loudly. "I hate driving. Being an adult sucks." He sighs.

"Was driving for two hours really that hard, darling? I'm sorry," Luke pushes out his lower lip and cooes at Ash.

"Shut up," Ashton growls.

Michael and Niall run off to figure out the sleeping arrangements, and Louis grabs a beer from the car and settles out on the deck. It's still early, just barely noon. From the deck, Louis can see the whole beach, and an iridescent sliver of the ocean.

Harry steps out onto the deck. "We should go to the beach." He shuts the glass sliding door behind him and sits in the chair next to Louis.

"Mhm. It's almost high tide, 'm gonna surf a bit." Louis says. He takes a long pull of his beer.

"Ni says we're sharing a room - master bedroom."

"Ew." Louis wrinkles his nose. "I don't want to stay with you. You talk in your sleep."

Harry's jaw drops. "So do you!" he says indignantly, and Louis laughs.

"Maybe I'll switch with Mike and sleep with Lukey. He's a good cuddler." Louis knows that gets to Harry. Harry is very protective of him.

"No way," Harry says in a low voice.

"Maybe with Zayn. He likes spooning," Louis muses.

" _Louis_." Harry just about growls. Louis laughs, raising his hands in surrender.

"I'm done, I'm done. I'm not going anywhere, we've got the best bed anyway," Louis says.

Harry frowns and runs a hand through his hair. Louis looks at his chocolatey mane (it's really that long). He can remember when Harry used to wear it in that big swoop over his forehead, it used to be so curly. When they were young, Louis loved to run his hands through it. Now, he does it anyway, reaching up to card his fingers through the dark hair. Harry smiles.

"It's still so soft," Louis says fondly.

"I've still got the same hair, Lou." Harry rolls his eyes.

"Fuck off." Louis wrinkles his nose. "D'you want me to teach you to surf today?" he asks eagerly.

He's tried teaching Harry a few times, but every time Harry always ends up slipping with his long limbs and falling into the water. Once, he bruised his tailbone from falling on the board. It may also be because Louis isn't a very good teacher, but he'd never admit it. He just wants to be able to show Harry how good it feels to stand up and actually ride a wave.

"Hah." Harry snorts. "That always goes so well. Especially when I fracture my ass."

"Bruise! It was a bruise, Harry," Louis laughs.

"I don't care about learning to surf, Lou. I'm fine with just watching you, really." Harry kicks his shin gently.

"You sure?" Louis asks, standing.

Harry nods. "Mhm. Lemme know when you guys head to the beach."

"Because you can’t see us walking in front of your face. You can see the beach from the deck, idiot.”

" _Hey_!"

Louis laughs as he slides the door shut behind him. Gemma and Ash are still in the living room, slaving over the air conditioner. Louis rolls his eyes and grabs his bag. Harry said they had the master bedroom, so Louis finds the biggest one and changes into his trunks in there. He tells Liam, Ashton, and Calum his plan, and they scuttle off to go get dressed as well.

Ten minutes later, the five of them (including Harry) head down to the beach, hopping up and down to avoid being burned by the sand. Right away, Louis sprints for the water with his board and dives in, letting the water wash over him. It's a bit cold, but nothing he can't handle. His friends follow, and soon the four of them are riding in wave after wave, occasionally snapping up off the lip or getting a ride in the tube.

Louis catches an especially good wave, pushes up with his arms, and jumps to his feet. The only thing keeping him from sliding off the board is his trusty old mixture of Sticky Bumps and Sex Wax. He looks up at Harry, who flashes him a smile, and gives him a Shaka Bra. He can see Harry laugh, so he rips his board back off the lip and snaps it back the opposite way. To keep his balance, he puts one hand on the side of the board as he pulls back.

Harry cheers from the beach, and Louis flips him off as he jumps into the water.

An hour or so later, after what feels like a few hundred sets, Louis, Calum, Ash, and Liam crawl to their friends on the beach and collapse on their towels. Louis falls asleep to the sound of gulls barking and waves crashing against the shore, and the feel of Harry burying his feet in sand.

When he wakes up, there's a lanky leg draped over his waist, and he's sweating all over. Damn, it's hot. WIthout moving his head, Louis tries to identify the leg on his back. It's too skinny to be Niall or Zayn, but it’s too muscular to be Harry. Harry’s been lanky and skinny since they were little.

Every time he tries to relax, Louis is plagued by the thought of Harry leaving. He hasn’t spent time away from Harry since their senior year in high school, when he went to California with his mom as a graduation present. The whole time, he was thinking of how much fun Harry was having without him instead of having any fun himself. His mom thought he didn’t like the trip at all, which wasn’t true. San Francisco had been nice. Harry just wasn’t in it, was the problem. The thing about Harry going away, was that Louis knew he was going to make all new friends. He was going to make all new friends, and do all kinds of new things, and probably fall in love and forget Louis completely. Louis was a lot more afraid of Harry falling in love than of being forgotten.

And that thought alone terrifies Louis to no end.

After a while, Louis turns his head.

He was wrong. Maybe he's been working out. His muscles are huge. Harry is lying to his right, pretty face looking angelic in the sunlight, hair like a crude halo. Harry's large hand is fisted in the blanket he's laying on, and a stream of drool is slowly dripping from his mouth. Louis snorts and looks around.

Zayn and Calum are the only ones still here. Zayn's got a book in one hand and a beer in the other, and Calum is lying out on a towel and with a pair of headphones in. Louis approves.

"Where'd they all go?" Louis mumbles, running a hand through his sleep hair to get it out of his face.

Zayn looks up from his book, smiling softly as he sees Harry draped over Louis. "They went for a walk or something. I think they're getting pizza."

"Want to head back?" Louis asks, standing.

Zayn shakes his head. "I told Liam I'd let him try to teach me to surf." He grimaces.

"Mhm. Can you have him bring my board back?"

Zayn nods, and Louis pokes Calum's cheek. "Cal, want to head back to the house and shower up?"

Calum pulls his ear buds out and looks up at him. "Sure, yeah." He looks at the sleeping lump on the blanket that is Harry. "We bringing this?"

Louis laughs. "Yeah, I guess." He pokes Harry's tummy with a sandy foot. "Harry, get up, you big oaf."

"Mmph." Harry rolls over.

"Harry! Let's go." Calum rolls his eyes.

Harry groans and stands, rubbing his eyes. "Okay, Okay, let's go."

Louis pats Zayn's shoulder and slides his arm around Harry's waist. Harry throws an arm around his shoulders, and the three of them make their way back to the house. A warm wind blows through Louis' hair, and gulls bark in the distance. It's a clear summer evening except to the west, where the sun, in a festive fit before going to bed, streams pinks and reds among a few streaks of cloud. When they reach the porch, Calum tells Louis he's going to get the first shower, so he and Harry go inside and flop on the largest couch.

"'m tired." Harry says, leaning over and falling into Louis' lap. Louis laughs and pats his head.

"You didn't even go in, idiot." Louis rolls his eyes. "D'you want to go out on the deck? Sunset's nice."

Harry looks up, eyes tired and greener than the everglades, and smiles. "Yeah, it's nice out there."

Louis stands, and reaches out for Harry's hand. Harry takes it, and Louis yanks him up. Harry, being the clumsy, lanky, boy he is, stumbles. Something like sparklers, bright and burning, ignite low in Louis' stomach. Harry leads him out onto the deck, and Louis just now notices the fairy lights strung around the rail. He sits down on the couch by the fire pit, and chuckles as Harry fiddles with the tank of propane, trying to light it up.

After around two minutes of frustratedly attempting to light the fire, Harry finally does it, and the fire pit begins to burn brightly.

"Great job," Louis deadpans.

Harry glares at him. "Ha _ha_."

Harry walks over and sits down next to Louis on the couch, smiling at him. In that simple smile, Louis can see something more beautiful than stars.

It's always been like this between him and Harry. If someone ever asks what's going on between them, his response has always been that they “ _almost_ _dated_.”

Except “ _almost_ _dated_ ” is such a sad relationship to have with someone. “ _Almost_ ” is such a weird title to own. As if he _almost_ could have tasted his lips and he's almost pretty sure they taste like pink roses. And Harry _almost_ loved him back and was ready to be with him.

And Louis doesn't want “ _almost_ ” anymore. It's not good enough. He wants to map out every inch of Harry's skin, trace the freckles on his nose like constellations in the sky.

And he's leaving in two months.

Louis keeps trying to picture what it's going to be like without Harry by his side, but whenever he tries, he just can't. He's always pictured facing the world with Harry by his side. Harry set this fire in Louis' heart all these years ago, and Louis will be damned if Harry isn't the one to put it out.

"Penny for your thoughts," Harry says, poking his cheek.

"Hm?" Louis looks over at him, flashing back into reality.

"What're you thinking about? Looks intense."

"You're leaving," Louis says quietly.

"Louis."

"You're leaving, and I'm going home, and I'm not going to see you 'til Christmas, Harry."

"Louis?" Harry sighs. "Can we--not talk about this? I want to enjoy this trip, and--and you making me sad isn't going to help."

Louis flinches a bit. "Sure. Sorry."

"Don't look at me like that, Lou. I'm sorry, okay?"

"Okay."

"C'mon, gimme a smile, Lou." Harry gives him a knowing smirk.

"Okay." Louis doesn't let himself smile.

"Louiiiiiiiis." Harry taunts hm.

"Hm?" Louis feigns innocence.

"Smile?" Harry sticks his bottom lip out in a pout.

"Okay." Louis looks back at Harry and grins exaggeratedly, flashing all his teeth.

Harry laughs. "See? That's better," he says with a goofy smile.

The door slides open and Calum comes out, dressed in only a pair of trackies. His hair is all wet and plastered to his forehead from his shower. "Stop smiling at each other like that, it's gross," he groans.

"That hurts, Cal." Louis cries as Calum sits in the chair to his right.

"Wow, you three have been having so much fun without us, haven't you? I'm jealous." Niall jogs up the steps to the deck, Louis' surfboard under his arm.

An hour or so later, all of them have spread themselves out on the couches and chairs. Liam’s manning the grill, and Zayn’s helping out while the rest of them get into a heated discussion over books vs. movies.

"But they got rid of her only friend, it was like she had no other friends in the movie," Gemma chimes in.

Louis interrupts. "But what about Ginny? They made Ginny look like a lifeless bimbo with no personality."

"Okay but what movie followed the book exactly the way you wanted it to, hm?" Michael snaps.

Harry raises an eyebrow. "Have you read The Great Gatsby?"

Luke nods. "I read it when I was a senior, yeah."

"Me, too." Ashton says.

"Well, that's one of the most famous American classics out there, and the movie follows all the dialogue almost exactly, but the characters are portrayed differently. Like Ginny.”

"Thanks for the philosophy, Haz." Louis rolls his eyes, and Harry frowns.

"Who wants chicken?" Liam asks.

They eat as the last slice of sun dips below the horizon, and the stars begin to shine in the sky. Niall brings out the marshmallows, and the ten of them roast them and munch on them until they're full to bursting.

Louis leans back on the couch and looks up at the sky. He can still hear waves breaking in the distance, and the laughter of his friends lulls him into a sleepy, happy, stupor. He can feel Harry's fingers tracing over his thigh, and he's pretty sure there must be marks left from how electric it feels, even through his shorts.

He hears a bang and opens his eyes. A red firework explodes high above them, a shower of colors and light, loud and unexpected and beautiful. His friends _ooh_ and _ah_. Louis looks over to see Harry's face illuminated in green light, all pale and sculpted and pretty. Harry pulls him closer without even looking, and Louis sighs.

After the fireworks, he heads inside for a shower and then to bed. When he gets into the master bedroom, Harry's already in there, sprawled out on the floor, watching TV.

"Go get in the shower, then come to bed, kay?" Louis yawns, climbing into bed.

"Mhm. Night, Lou." Harry stands and Louis hears the shower turn on a minute later.

Turning on his side, Louis pulls the blanket closer to himself and yawns again. Sometime soon after, Harry climbs into bed, wrapping an arm around Louis. Louis is too sleepy to hope Harry can't feel his heart pounding in his chest.

The waves in the distance, accompanied by the soft sound of Harry's breathing and the feel of his heart thumping against Louis' back serve as his own personal lullaby.

☼

Louis wakes up early the next morning, and carefully extricates himself from Harry's arms. There's - oh _God_ \- there's a small pool of Harry's drool on Louis' neck. Shivering, Louis wipes his neck with a towel he grabs from the floor and heads onto the deck.

The morning sun warms Louis down to his bones, and he smiles as he settles into the chair where Ashton and Gemma sat last night and made s'mores. They might have been cuddling, too. Louis doesn't remember; he was half asleep the entire night. He vaguely remembers watching Zayn kiss Liam's cheek.

After a while of staring out at the ocean, Louis heads inside and makes himself a bowl of cereal. Well, he doesn't make it, per say, but he pours it into a bowl and adds milk and calls it a day. The hot tub in the corner begins to call his name, and he attempts to reject its advances.

He fails.

Once in his trunks, Louis sinks under the warm water, sighing in pleasure. The glass door slides open, and Zayn and Niall walk out, each dressed in only swim trunks.

"Morning." Niall yawns as Louis gives him a weak wave.

"Can we join you?" Zayn asks, dipping a toe in. "Temp?" He asks.

Louis glances at the little screen. "Ninety-seven." 

"Perfect." Zayn lowers himself the rest of the way in.

"Niall? You coming?" Louis looks over at Niall, who appears to still be half asleep.

"Hm? Yeah, yeah." Niall says quickly. He gets in the warm water with them.

"This house is awesome." Louis says, looking up.

Zayn and Niall look, too. "Yeah." Zayn nods.

"Tell your dad we said thanks a million, Zee." Louis says.

Zayn's dad is, to put it mildly, loaded. For Zayn's eighteenth birthday, he was given a Rolex worth more than three Bugattis. There were over five hundred diamonds on the face of that watch. And Zayn only wore it twice. Over the years, Louis has learned that Zayn likes being low maintenance. He doesn't like being spoiled, or babied. Zayn's just fine with being regular.

It took Louis and his friends a while to convince him to let his dad pay for the houses, too. Liam had to promise to teach him to surf and skate while they were on the trip to get him to agree. Louis thinks Zayn only agreed to let Yaser pay because Liam wanted him to. Muscular, manly, cute, silly Liam, who Zayn's had a boyish crush on since sophomore year, when Zayn wore those stupid glasses around all the time.

"Mhm." Zayn rolls his eyes.

"Did you sleep with Harry?" Niall asks sleepily. Zayn snorts.

Louis blinks a few times. "Well I didn't _sleep_ with him, but - I slept with him. Like, in the same bed. Not touching."

Niall laughs again. "No contact whatsoever?" he asks.

"Okay, that last part was a lie," Louis confesses. "But we didn't fuck, no. I'd be either skipping or waddling right now."

Zayn bursts out laughing, but Niall frowns, confused, until realization dawns on his face. "Wha - oh my God." He laughs. "No. No, no, no."

"I had to, sorry." Louis shrugs.

"Morning, boys." Michael and Ash sit on the edge of the hot tub and each dip their feet in.

"Ashton, what was goin' on between you and Gemma last night, huh? Do tell." Niall raises his eyebrows evilly.

Ashton snorts. "We didn't do anything, Ni, why would we do anything?"

Louis laughs, running a hand through his hair. "Isn't there a little somethin' somethin' goin' on between you two?" He winks at him.

Ashton rolls his eyes and splashes Louis. "No -"

"C'mon, we won't tell Harry or anything, just tell us," Michael pleads.

"I - alright, yeah. I mean, look at her." Ashton looks up at what Louis assumes is Gemma's window. Louis can't see Gemma, but, neither can Ashton.

"I'm gay, so." Zayn raises his eyebrows and shrugs.

Louis and the other boys burst out laughing.

"What're you guys shitting yourselves about?" Liam asks, shutting the door behind him. He sits next to Zayn and puts his toes under the water. Louis might be imagining it, but he swears he sees Zayn flush pink.

"Morning, Liam." Zayn says. Zayn leans into Liam's side, and he wraps an arm around his shoulders.

He definitely blushes.

"Hey, Zee," Liam says softly.

To avoid the silence that he knows is coming, Louis turns to Ashton and says loudly, "Ash, you coming surfing today?"

Ashton wrinkles his nose. "Can't we just chill today? I can really feel those waves in my muscles."

A laugh bubbles out of Louis' mouth.

Calum interjects. "Did you see me land on the board on that one wave? Like, the big set? Landed straight on my ass."

"Oh, God. Is there a bruise?" Louis asks.

Cal stands and begins to pulls his shorts down. Michael smacks the back of his head and tugs them up high before Calum can moon them. Louis and his friends laugh, and Calum sits back down, defeated.

A little while later, everyone is out there, spread out across the deck. Gemma is sitting on the corner or the rail, blue and purple hair pulled up messily, soaking up the morning sun, with Ashton leaning on the rail next to her. Zayn and Liam are both chilling on the couch, legs tangled together. Louis smiles to himself, and Harry narrows his eyes at him.

"Why're you smiling?" He asks suspiciously.

"Hm?" Louis turns to him.

"Mm. Want to go to the beach?" Harry asks, giving him a dopey smile.

"Love to." Louis hops off the rail. "Anyone for the beach?"

Ten minutes later, Louis' laid out on a towel, basking in the sunlight. Coldplay is playing, and there's nine ham sandwiches (one turkey for Zayn) inside the cooler. To his right, Gemma is lying on her back, singing along. On his left is Harry, who continues to poke his tummy. It's taking an enormous amount of willpower not to roll over into him and kiss him until he forgets his name.

He doesn't do that, because 1. he seriously doubts that Harry would kiss him back, 2. that would be a bit weird in front of all their friends, and 3. Louis might not even be able to roll on him from where he's laying. So, yeah. He doesn't kiss Harry. The thought itself has his pulse racing and the sparklers in his stomach burning a little brighter.

"Harry," Louis says calmly.

"Hm?" Harry asks innocently. Like he doesn't even know.

"Poke me one more time, and I sw -"

A shadow steps in front of his sun. Louis opens one eye and sees Zayn standing above him. "Come feel the water, 's warm."

"Zayn, you can't swim." Louis says slowly. Zayn kicks his shin. "Ow."

A handful of wet sand lands on his chest and splatters up to his face. His friends cackle.

Louis sits up slowly, eyes opening to give Zayn the most evil glare he can manage. Just as slow, he wipes the sand off his mouth and stands. Zayn bolts down to the water, yelling for Liam to come protect him. Louis follows him.

"Lou, don't do this," Zayn pleads, laughing.

Louis raises an eyebrow and gets a fistful of wet sand. Zayn steps back into Liam's chest. The look he gives Liam is enough to soften Louis' gaze. A bit.

Still, he cocks his arm back and flings the sand into Zayn's tummy.

"Ah!" Zayn groans and falls back again. Liam holds him around the middle to protect himself.

Soon, it's an all-out sand fight between all ten of them. Louis shows no mercy. He throws the sand every which way, ensuring that there will be no survivors. Harry seems to be the least of his worries, though the younger boy seems to be watching him with a childish glee as he goes on his rampage. In one swift motion, Louis reloads and hits Calum in the neck. Cal makes a noise like a dying whale and falls backwards into the sand.

"He's down!" Niall yells, running to his aid.

"No!" Ashton dives toward Niall heroically, getting between Niall and the handful of sand being thrown at him. It hits Ashton in the side, and he falls into the sand with a loud, dramatic final moan.

Louis laughs maniacally and goes for Niall again; the sand hits him in the leg. Niall limps over to Liam and Zayn, and falls behind them. Zayn begins to "tend" to Niall's "wound" as Liam covers them. Louis dives out of a smattering of sand's path, then aims for Gemma. She dodges the bad blow, but gets hit in the shoulder. With an audible groan, she begins throwing with her left.

In the end, Louis and Michael reign supreme, their friends fallen around them.

"So, what's my prize?" Louis asks. His friends laugh as they stand and brush the sand off themselves.

"Um," Calum scratches the back of his neck.

"An uninterrupted nap?" Gemma raises her eyebrows and wrinkles his nose.

"I'll take it." Louis nods and runs for the water. He rinses off and returns to his towel. Around him, he can hear his friends talking, and the melodic sound of Harry's laugh.

Harry wakes him up later to build a sandcastle, which, well. It doesn't turn out very well. The sand isn't wet enough in some places and it's too wet in others, and their castle turns into a lump with a stick at the top.

It's nearly sunset when they head back, sleepy and sandy, but still smiling. Louis leaves his things on the deck and is the first one in the outdoor shower. Harry sits on the couch nearby, and they talk as Louis rinses the saltwater off his skin, which is warm from a day of sun.

"But how could anyone understand that, Lou? What kind of island has polar bears on it? It's not a reoccurring thing." Harry whines. Louis rinses out his shampoo.

"That's the _point_!" Louis groans. "It wasn't a regular island, the whole thing controlled time and space and there was a ridiculously powerful, like, magnet thing that had to be kept under control and was so powerful that it made a fucking plane crash!"

"But, how does that even -"

"It's work of fiction, Harry." Louis rolls his eyes.

"Whatever. Oh - the other day, d'you really think Rick could've done that to the guy if Carl wasn't in danger? Or was it a father-son thing?"

Louis chuckles. "I highly doubt that killing someone with your bare hands is a father-son thing."

"Louis."

"Yeah, I guess. I mean, Rick's just a regular guy on the wrong side of the apocalypse, I guess." He shrugs, even though he knows it can’t be seen.

"There's a right side of the apocalypse?" Harry asks. Louis can hear the smile in his voice.

"Very funny." Louis says. "Can I have my towel?"

He shuts the water off and reaches between one of the gaps in the wood, and Harry hands him a fluffy blue towel. Louis dries off, and ties the towel around his waist, then shuts the door to the shower behind him and heads inside, making sure to to tell Harry to wait for him out there.

He pulls on a pair of shorts and a tank top, then shakes his wet hair out in the bathroom. As he makes his way down the hallway, he sees Ashton and Gemma connected by the lips at the end of the hall.

"Fucking knew it," Louis says as he passes by.

Ashton gives him the finger, and Louis laughs. Once outside, Louis is informed (by a very disinterested Niall) that they're having leftovers from last night. He inhales a hot dog and watches as the stars as they fill the sky. He can't see too many, but he figures that's because of light pollution or something.

Maybe they'll see more somewhere along the way to Miami.

It's late when they finally get inside, and Louis is half dead on his feet. Harry half-walks, half-carries him to their room, and they collapse into bed in a tangled mass of limbs and hair (mostly Harry's, his is longer).

☼

After a very late start, Louis and his friends pack their things and pile back into the van. Their next stop is a place called Singing Beach. It's apparently in Massachusetts.

The drive is pretty long; the day is beginning to wane when they arrive at the large, homey house just a few minutes' walk from the ocean. Louis almost falls out of the car trying to open the back door. Bags in hand, they make their way inside.

The house is just as big inside, all painted white and decorated like a proper beach house with little shells everywhere. There's a living room by the front door, and one closer to the back with huge windows that open to make a sunroom, of sorts. They all pair off to share the five bedrooms upstairs (Louis decides to share with Zayn), heading to their new rooms to change for dinner.

Liam orders takeout from the local seafood restaurant, and they open up the living room and share a few beers in the remaining sunlight.

"Niall." Louis says, interrupting Niall's dramatic story about a trip to the gym.

"Yeah?" Niall looks up, then takes a long pull of his beer.

"You know in eighth grade? When you thought you were getting fat?" Louis asks, popping a grape into his mouth. Niall nods. "Every night, I took your uniform shorts in a little more," he says casually.

A bit of Niall's beer dribbles out of his mouth. "You… _what_?" he asks slowly. Everyone around them watches in silence, fascinated.

"You heard me," Louis smirks.

"I went to fat camp for three weeks." Niall sounds a bit horrified. "Louis."

"Sorry, man." Louis shrugs.

"But... you learned to sew last year, I remember Harry taught you…”

Louis shakes his head. "No, I learned in September of eighth grade. When you started getting fat."

"Louis, you fucking asshole." Niall snaps. "I'm gonna kill you."

"Do it." Louis raises his eyebrows.

"Louis," Luke starts from the next cushion over. "That's the single best thing I've ever heard."

Zayn nods. "Yeah, that's really amazing."

"Thank you, thank you." Louis gives a small bow.

"I swear to god, Louis. I'll get you for that." Niall growls.

"I'm terrified." Louis deadpans.

Zayn laughs, and pats Louis on the back. The sun paints streaks of pink and orange on the horizon as it dips below the waves just a few minutes' walk from them. It's like the sun cracked an egg over the water and released a myriad of colors over the water. He can see Harry sitting in the chair across from him. God, he's pretty.

Harry catches Louis staring and grins at him.

Fucking _butterflies_.

The doorbell rings, and everyone in their little circle straightens up. "Food's here," Michael announces.

"I got it." Liam stands. A few seconds later, he calls, "Somebody loan me four dollars?"

" _I_ got it." Calum laughs to himself as he hurries to the front door.

Louis, though instructed otherwise, does, in fact eat all of the fried shrimp they ordered. That particular incident earns him a smack from Ashton. When the sun is totally gone, Louis tilts his head back and looks up at the stars. He can smell the leftover stench of fish and alcohol dripping off his friends' breath, and the sound of crickets and waves crashing against wet sand in the distance. Zayn's staring at Liam almost in awe as he tells a story, and it looks like he's seeing the sun for the first time, and Gemma is sitting between Ashton's thighs, and he's playing with her hair.

It's late when Louis deems himself ready for bed; he climbs out of Harry's lap (how did he get there?) and brings himself upstairs. Zayn follows him up. Louis toes off his Vans and looks out the window, which...isn't a window.

"Holy shit, we have a balcony?"

Zayn's head snaps toward the door. "Oh, dude, let's go out there!" he says excitedly.

Louis nods and steps outside. It's cold out there, but a good kind of cold. Beach cold. There's two cushioned wicker chairs out there, and Louis and Zayn take a seat across from each other.

"Liam says he's gonna teach me to surf tomorrow," Zayn sighs happily.

"I can teach you that," Louis says, just to pull the answer out of Zayn that he knows he'll get.

Zayn bites his lip. "I - ah, I kinda want Liam to teach me." He says sheepishly.

" _Ooooh_ , you want _Liam_ to teach you." Louis taunts.

If looks could kill, Louis would be in the ground. "Louis." He sighs. "Don't even get me started on how hopelessly in love you are with -"

"Zayn don't," Louis snaps.

"What, so you can talk about who I like but I can't talk about your best friend that you've been eye-fucking for _six_ _years_?" Zayn bites back playfully.

Louis kicks Zayn's shin softly. "What's there to talk about?"

"Louis," Zayn sighs.

"Oh, I don't really care, Zee. Do whatever you want," Louis shrugs. "I'm gonna grab a beer, I'll be back in a sec."

A minute or so later, Louis has a beer in his hand and a frown on his face.

"We don't have a bottle opener. Who goes on a roadtrip without a bottle opener?" he sighs, flopping back into the chair.

Zayn laughs and takes the bottle from his hands. He presses the edge of the cap to the rail and slams it down with the heel of his hand. The cap pops off, and Zayn laughs brightly. "There you go." He hands it to Louis.

"Dude." Louis stares at him. "That was the most hardcore thing I've ever seen."

Zayn laughs again. "You don't know how to do that?"

"Uh, no."

"I learned at a party, when I was a junior." Zayn says, taking the beer from Louis and taking a long pull.

"Give me that." Louis laughs.

Harrys obnoxious laugh rings throughout the house. "Is Harry staying with Liam?" Zayn asks.

"I think so." Louis shrugs.

"I think it's better that I don't always stay with Liam. I get kinda clingy." Zayn giggles.

"Heh." Louis finishes off his beer and stands. "Bedtime for me," he sings.

Zayn follows him inside, and they leave the doors open for some extra air. Yawning, Louis heads into the hallway and to the bathroom, where he comes face to face with Harry's chest. He's shirtless and sleepy. Louis looks up, and Harry laughs, arms reflexively wrapping around Louis. Those stupid sparklers ignite in Louis' stomach again, like there are livewires in Louis' veins.

"Oops."

"Hi there," Harry laughs again.

"I just - I need to brush my teeth," Louis says quietly. Harry rests his chin on Louis' head.

"Mhm. You smell like beer." Harry giggles.

"That's because I was drinking, Harry. That's what happens. Did you have any?" Louis asks.

"I just had a glass of wine," he says.

"So classy, aren't you, Harold?" Louis rolls his eyes.

Harry laughs loudly. Louis hopes no one hears them. "I'd like to think I am. You smell good."

Louis feels a blush creep up his neck and whacks Harry's side. "Can I brush my teeth yet or are you going to keep me here in your little death grip forever?" He raises an eyebrow.

"I think I'll keep you here."

Laughing, Louis wiggles out of Harry's grip and ducks into the bathroom. Harry turns and leans against the doorframe, flipping his hair out of his face like he used to. Toothbrush in his mouth, Louis glares at him and puts a hand on his hip. Harry stares him down. Louis blinks first, curses through a mouthful of toothpaste, spits it out.

Harry cackles from the doorway, moving closer and pulling Louis back into his arms. "Why'd you ask Zayn to stay with you and not me? You know he wants to stay with Liam."

"Cause I wanted to talk to him about Liam, actually," Louis says.

"What about Liam? 's he okay?" Harry asks quickly.

"Yeah, yeah. I... I think he either really likes Zayn back, or he's crazy over someone else. I, personally, hope it's the first one," Louis says.

"I think he likes Zee back, he keeps bugging Liam to teach him to surf." Harry cocks his head.

"Dunno." Louis yawns. "I'm tired, though. 'm gonna go to sleep."

Harry rubs Louis' back gently. "Night, Lou."

Louis wanders back into his room and flops on the bed, sighing happily.

"What happened to you? Choke on the toothpaste?" Zayn snorts.

"I was talking to Harry, gimme a break." He says, rolling his eyes.

"Ooh, that's who," Zayn cooes.

Louis hits his stomach and climbs under the covers, where thoughts of Harry plague him until he falls asleep, tangled in Zayn's limbs.

☼

When he wakes up, there's someone next to Louis that definitely isn't Zayn. He can tell after a moment that it's Harry, he can smell his apple shampoo and hear his heavy breathing. There's a large hand resting on the curve of his waist, and another draped just above his head. Louis feels warm all over. He can feel Harry's heartbeat on his back, beating steadily.

"Mm," Harry sighs.

"You awake?" Louis asks.

"Mhm," Harry nods.

Louis turns on his side and nuzzles into Harry's chest. "You're warm," he mumbles.

Harry chuckles. "Thanks?"

"How'd you end up in here? Where's Zayn?" he mutters into Harry's chest. An arm slides around his waist and holds him close.

"Zayn's eating breakfast, Liam's gonna teach him to surf today."

Louis snorts. "That's gonna go well."

"I think Liam 'll be a good teacher." Harry blinks a few times.

Louis shrugs and wiggles out of Harry's warm arms, stands. Harry whines and reaches for him blindly. With a laugh, Louis pulls off his T-shirt and exchanges his shorts for swim trunks. From the bed, Harry whines again.

"What?" Louis turns to look at the sleepy lump that is Harry.

"Come back and cuddle with me?" Harry raises an eyebrow, and Louis puts a hand on his hip.

Louis rolls his eyes. "I'm going to the beach."

" _Noooo_!"

"Later, Harry."

Louis makes his way into the kitchen, where Zayn is sitting on the counter while Liam makes smoothie. Zayn gives him a knowing smile and slides off the counter.

"How'd that go?" he asks.

Louis smirks. "Putting my shorts on? It went very well, thanks."

Zayn glares at him. "I meant Harry."

"What, you mean waking up with him wrapped around me? For starters, he smells great. But, you knew that, so." Louis shrugs. "What're you making, Li?"

Liam turns to him. "A smoothie with enough stuff in it that it'll keep me, you, Zayn, and Cal surfing for a while."

"Meaning it's healthy?" Louis wrinkles his nose.

Liam laughs, turning the blender off. "Yes, it is."

"Ugh." Louis rolls his eyes and looks out the window. "Is the beach a walk or a drive?"

"A walk, just around a block." Zayn says. "Li says I can use your board."

Louis almost laughs. His surfboard is like his baby. "You can use Ashton's or Calum's. Not mine."

"Louis," Zayn frowns.

"It's the longest one we've got, and you know it's easier to learn if it's long," Liam says.

Sighing, Louis blinks slowly and nods. "Fine, fine. I'll just... kidnap Luke's skimboard for the day. Happy?"

Zayn and Liam smile at him. "Yes!" Zayn looks like he's about to explode into rays of actual sunlight.

"Now you can teach him." Louis glares at them. "I'm gonna go wake up Niall."

Niall roomed with Calum last night, but Louis can hear Cal in the shower, so it's just the little blonde boy still in bed. Louis flops on top of him. Niall groans sleepily and bats at him with his hands.

"Get off me, Louis," he mutters.

"Nope. Not 'til you get up."

Niall groans again. "I hate you."

"You hate that you love me, Ni," Louis says cheerily.

"No, I'm pretty sure I hate you," Niall says, rolling over. Louis falls off him and onto the bed, laughing. "'re you guys surfing today?"

"Zayn's gonna learn on my board, so I'm stuck on land," Louis says.

"Three bucks they'll end up making out, one way or another." Niall stands, pulling on a T-shirt.

"Lou!" Zayn calls.

"Yeah?" Louis asks as Zayn appears in the doorway.

"Where's my lighter?"

"No idea," Louis shrugs.

Zayn groans.

"Use the things that turn on the candles." Niall says from the bathroom.

"The what?" Louis laughs.

"Y'know, they're over by the... fuck, what's it called? The - the stove bowl," Niall calls.

A hysterical laugh bubbles out of Zayn's mouth. "You mean matches?"

Niall pokes his head out the doorway. "Yeah, those," he nods.

Louis looks at Zayn, and they each burst out laughing. "Idiot. He's an _idiot_."

"That's rude, Zayn." Niall comes out frowning.

"Aw, no." Zayn makes a pouty face and holds his arms out. Niall walks into his hug slowly. "See? All better."

"Mhm." Niall nods, still pouting.

Louis rolls his eyes. "You two are disgusting." 

"You're one to talk." Niall raises an eyebrow at Louis as he and Zayn separate.

"Shut up, I know what you're gonna say." Louis stands and makes his way into the kitchen.

Harry's in there now, chatting with Liam about dinner tonight. Louis sidles up to Harry and slides an arm around his waist. Harry puts his arm around Louis' shoulder without a second thought, and Louis begins to pretend he's listening to what Harry's saying about eating healthy. After a moment, Liam suggests they head to the beach, and Louis agrees excitedly.

Louis and his friends make their way to the beach together, and spread out their towels and blanket on the ground. Liam, Zayn, and Calum head for the water right away, but Louis just lets his feet get wet at the edge. The tide isn't very lending to skim boarding at the moment, anyway. He and Harry watch as Liam attempts to teach Zayn how to dive under the waves.

"He's never gonna learn," Niall says as he breezes past them and into the water.

Louis laughs and watches as he dives under a wave. Zayn seems to be getting it, though. Within an hour he's stood up on two waves. Based on those two, he's really riding them well. Louis and Harry watch halfheartedly from the blanket, playing an intense game of 20 Questions.

Louis isn't watching when Zayn slips on the board and lands on it shoulder first, but he hears him cry out. He stands and sees Zayn get wiped out, and runs down to the water. Zayn washes up a second later, coughing and grimacing. His board is still tethered to his ankle.

"What happened?" Louis asks quickly, helping him stand.

"Fell," Zayn says, his voice shaking a bit.

Liam darts out of the water and to Zayn's side, and Calum is there seconds later.

"Shit, are you okay?" Liam asks, wrapping an arm around Zayn's waist. Louis undoes the board from around Zayn's ankle and runs it up to the blanket. Calum does the same with his and Liam's boards.

"My shoulder," Zayn's eyebrows furrow.

"I'll take you back to the house and see what I can do, okay?" Liam asks. He looks ridiculously concerned.

Zayn nods. "Yeah, yeah," 

"I'll stay here and tell everyone what happened, and you two can take Zee to the house, alright?" Calum jogs back to the blanket without waiting for an answer.

"C'mon, Zaynie, you'll be alright," Louis says, patting Zayn's back gently.

Zayn rolls his eyes, then bites his lip as he and Liam begin to walk. It takes longer than usual to get to the house, especially with Zayn and Liam taking their sweet time. When they do arrive, Liam helps Zayn onto the couch and Louis gets him ice.

"Need a drink? I saw you take in a lot of water when you wiped out," Louis offers. Zayn nods.

Louis wanders into the kitchen and fixes Zayn a lemonade with lots of ice. When he walks back into the living room, his first thought is that he owes Niall three dollars.

Liam is bent over Zayn, and Zayn's got one hand at the nape of his neck, and they're kissing softly. When he sees Louis, Liam stands up straight and blushes beet red.

"I, uh, left something at the beach," Liam stutters. He leaves before Louis or Zayn can say a word.

Zayn's head flops back onto the couch. " _Fuck_."

Louis waits a minute before he says anything. "Um," He bites his lip. "How did that just happen?"

"Uh. Well, he was looking at my shoulder and he got really close, and I was staring at him, and then he looked at me, and he kept leaning in closer, so I pulled him in and kissed him, and well. He kissed me back," Zayn explains sheepishly.

"And... how do you feel about that?" Louis asks, shuffling awkwardly on his feet.

"Not too good. He just, like, _left_. Like he's ashamed." Zayn shrugs.

"Zayn. Zayn, Zayn, Zayn." Louis shakes his head. "Have you looked in a mirror recently? You're fucking gorgeous. Nobody would be ashamed of kissing you, kay?"

"Mm," Zayn shrugs again, then winces as his shoulder moves.

"How d'you feel?" Louis asks quickly.

"Fucking fantastic." Zayn glares at him.

Louis stands and grabs the remote. "I'll put a movie on and we can chill, okay?" 

"Yeah, yeah."

Louis flips through the channels until he finds a movie, and he and Zayn settle down to watch it. They're only about halfway through when Gemma comes in with Ashton close behind her. Gemma tells Louis that Harry wants to see him. She says she can take care of Zayn for a bit. Louis feels bad leaving Zayn, but he'll be fine.

He makes his way down to the beach, where Harry is the only one left on the blanket. Everyone else is in the water. Liam is surfing a bit further down the beach, probably trying not to think about Zayn. Louis lays down next to Harry, who opens one green eye.

"Hi," Louis says quietly. "Gemma said you needed me?"

"Yeah, we're going swimming." Harry stands, grabs Louis' wrist, and pulls him up.

Louis yelps and follows Harry down to the water. It's chilly, but he gets used to it once he dives under. Calum jumps on his back, and Louis flails around to get him off. Luke pries him off of Louis' back and pulls him under.

"How's he doing?" Niall asks.

Louis glares at Niall. "I owe you three bucks."

Niall grins wildly. "How'd it happen?" Then he looks at Liam, and his face falls. "Why is Liam mad?"

"He's embarrassed or something, I dunno." Louis gives a half-shrug.

"He'll get over it, and then they'll make out again. I bet you three more dollars." Niall raises his eyebrows.

"I'll need a loan from Zayn," Louis snorts, and Niall cackles.

"Pay attention to meeeeeeee," Harry whines, hanging on Louis like a koala.

Louis laughs, leaning back into the water and making Harry go under. Harry fights to stay afloat.

"Louis!" Harry yells.

Louis straightens up. "I'm done, I'm done." He laughs.

After a long while of swimming and splashing, Louis heads back up to the blanket for a nap.

It's late when he wakes up. The sun hangs low in the sky, and almost everyone has left the beach. All of Louis' friends have left but Harry, who is reading a book next to him. Louis watches the way his eyes dart across each page and smiles to himself. Harry looks up and catches him staring, and giggles.

"How was your nap?" Harry asks, bookmarking his page and putting his book away.

"Great, yeah." Louis stands quickly. He wants to know what happened between Liam and Zayn.

"What's the rush?" Harry asks.

Louis raises his eyebrows. "Did Niall tell you about Liam and Zayn?" 

"Mhm." Harry nods.

"I want to know what happened." Louis says, rolling up his towel.

"Oh, I'll tell you what happened." Harry shivers. "I found them making out in the laundry room. Zayn was sitting on it, and - ew."

"And, like, did Liam run away?" Louis asks excitedly.

"They told me to get out." Harry laughs.

"Good, this is very good." Louis nods slowly. "We should go check on them."

"And go get showers and such," Harry adds.

"Yeah. That too."

Harry laughs and grabs his own towel, and they make their way back to the house. Louis finds Zayn sitting in the living room with Niall while Liam finishes dinner outside. Louis sits down with him and demands to know everything.

"Not much to tell." Zayn shrugs. "We're just... together."

"Wine, Louis?" Niall asks regally, holding up his glass.

"Nah, I'm just hungry. I could eat a fucking horse. What's Liam making?" Louis asks.

"Fish," Zayn says.

"Mm."

"Oh, and, Louis?" Niall asks with a sly smile.

"Yeah?" Louis raises his eyebrows.

"You owe me another three bucks." He smirks.

"I'll pay you both to stop making bets over what I think you're making bets over," Zayn grumbles, and Niall's eyes light up.

"How much?" he asks, grinning.

"Three dollars each." Zayn glares at him.

"Well that's no fun," Louis laughs, heading upstairs to shower.

After dinner, Louis decides to make it an early night. He's the first one upstairs, which unfortunately means that he and Calum are staying together, and, well. Calum snores. Louis sucks it up and tries to ignore him, and eventually falls asleep.

☼

The whole house oversleeps the next day, and would already be late getting to the rental house in New Jersey, but massive amounts of traffic make them even later. When they do get to Seaside Park, it's already dinner time. The house they rented is smaller than the other ones they've stayed in, but it's still nice. A few people will have to stay on the floor, though. Louis and Harry snag the middle bedroom, while Luke and Michael get the first one, and Ashton and Gemma get the last one. Nobody's surprised about Ashton and Gemma staying together anymore.

They get dinner at a little place called Surf Taco, the inside of which is covered in stickers bearing its name. On the menu, there's a special burrito called a Tsunami, which a waitress informs them is eight times the size of their largest regular burrito. She says that if they can finish all of it, they'll get on the wall of fame.

"Right." Louis looks around at his friends. "We'll take two."

The waitress makes a face, but heads into the kitchen. When the Tsunamis come out, Louis sees why they're so famous for them. The burritos are at least as long as Louis' torso, covered in salsa and sour cream and guacamole. Homemade chips line the huge plate, and cheese is sprinkled over the whole thing.

"Holy shit." Liam stares at it in awe.

"Good luck with that," the waitress smirks, and heads into the kitchen.

"Wow. Okay. Let's do this," Niall says determinedly.

Louis nods, and they dig in.

Twenty minutes and two massive burritos later, a series of cheers ring through the Surf Taco. Louis sits back in his chair, tossing his napkin on the table.

"Did you guys really finish them?" a waitress calls.

"Yeah!" Niall yells.

The staff cheers, and a worker comes out with a camera. "Picture tiiiime," he sings.

"Do we - _hic_! - do we get on the wall?" Calum asks.

"Mhm. Cheese!" the kid says, and Louis and his friends pose for the picture. "Okay, that'll be on the wall later. What're your guys' names?"

Gemma tells him and he scuttles off to print the picture. When they've paid and gotten complimentary T-shirts, Louis and his friends wander into the little surf shop next door. Louis pretends to look at the rack of shirts as he watches Zayn and Liam holding hands with a smile. They're cute. Niall comes up behind him and snorts, startling him.

"Jesus," Louis breathes. "What're you laughing at?"

Niall winks at him. "You still owe me six bucks."

Louis rolls his eyes and groans. "I already paid for the Tsunamis, Niall, gimme a fucking break here."

"That's a nice shirt," Niall says casually, gesturing to the clothing rack.

"Niall, this is a women's crop top," Louis says slowly, staring at the shirt that must've gotten mixed in with the men's.

Niall nods. "Yes."

Louis laughs and shoves the shirt back on the rack. "Fuck off."

"Let's go to the boardwalk," Luke calls.

"I second that," Calum says from the swim trunks.

Louis and his friends make their way to the boardwalk, but it's long walk from the surf shop to the attractions. When they reach the boards, Louis and his friends each down a shot of tequila at a dingy bar called the Beachcomber. Shaking off the bitter taste, Louis swings an arm around Michael's shoulders as they start towards the rides, whose lights cast shadows on Harry's face (which Louis was definitely not admiring).

"We're going on that ferris wheel right fucking now." Niall says determinedly.

"I'm surprised they've got any rides up, after the fire and all that shit." Liam says.

Louis looks up at the towering ferris wheel, lit up in fluorescent green lights. "Pairs of two?" Liam suggests, tugging Zayn a little closer.

"I'm up for it," Harry says, sliding between Louis and Michael and slipping an arm around Louis' waist. Michael laughs and runs off to grab Luke. "Want to go together?" Harry asks with a shit-eating grin.

Louis rolls his eyes and looks up at him. Harry smells like beach air and a musky, soft scent that's just Harry. "Sure, Harry."

"It makes me very happy that I'm taller than you," Harry says thoughtfully. Calum and Niall scuttle off to get everyone tickets for the ride.

Louis rolls his eyes again. It feels strange to know that after this summer, he won't see Harry probably until Christmas. He won't wake up with Harry by his side after a long night of Breaking Bad bingeing, or with Harry's name on his lips after another almost date.

Louis climbs into the little car silently, wondering if this is the one of the last times he and Harry will be able to do something like this. At first, Louis goes to sit across from Harry, but Harry laughs and pulls him to his side.

"Why d'you look so sad?" Harry frowns. "This is supposed to be fun."

Louis looks up at Harry's face, shining in the light of the ferris wheel. "Cause you're leaving." He says quietly, then yelps as the ride begins to move. It stops again, to let on Ashton and Gemma.

"Louis, let's not have this fight right now."

"But you are. You're going to the fucking University of San Francisco, and I'm going home. And I'm not gonna see you 'til Christmas, Harry." Louis looks out at the ocean, glittering below them.

Harry reaches over and pulls Louis close. "It's only three months, Lou."

"Harry, we haven't been apart that long since - I don't think we've ever been apart that long." Louis swallows. "You're going across the fucking country, and you're gonna make all new friends, and I'll be home. Missing you and Niall and Liam and Zayn."

"Lou." Harry shakes his head. "That's not - that's not what's gonna happen, okay?"

"Then what i -" Louis is cut off by a colorful explosion going off to their left.

Fireworks.

The ferris wheel gets moving again, and Harry and Louis watch the display in silence. The two of them have always been able to do this with each other, and it's probably how they've stayed friends so long. Their silences are never awkward, always filled with cuddles or silent conversation in their little language they've developed using only their eyes.

It's nice up there, in Harry's embrace. He's warm, and Louis can feel his steady heartbeat as they sit together.

"I'm not going to forget about you," Harry says after a while. Louis wiggles out of his grip and looks up at him. "I'm not, like, some sunshiney friendly social butterfly like you and Niall are. I can't just, like, pick up a bunch of new friends to hang with for the next four years in two minutes like you can. I don't - I'm shy." Harry flushes pink.

Louis wants to laugh. "You know what? I don't want to have this fight either. Not right now," he says.

"Can we cuddle again?"

Louis nods and Harry pulls him into his chest again. As they round the ferris wheel, Louis sees Niall and Calum, who make kissy faces at him. Louis flips them off, and they laugh. As the ride draws to a stop, Louis worms out of Harry's arms and sits up, ignoring the look Harry gives him.

Louis heads for the ice cream shop closest to them, and gets a chocolate cone, which he devours in under three minutes (probably a personal record). They head back to the house with a few distractions along the way (Niall wanted to play the water gun game). On the way back, Harry and Louis walk a bit behind from the others, talking about memories of old inside jokes and little pranks they pulled in high school.

Back at the house, Louis wanders into his bedroom without a word of goodnight to any of his friends. He's tired, and he doesn't want anyone to get in the way of his sleep. Harry follows him into the little bedroom, and neither of them bother to turn the light on. Wordlessly, they each change into pajamas and climb into bed.

It's been an agreement for a long time that Louis is now the little spoon, but it still hurts. Once upon a time, when Louis was a senior in high school and Harry was a sophomore, Louis was taller, and he was the big spoon. But one day Harry started growing and just…never stopped. It still makes Louis mad that he's shorter than Harry.

After a while of listening to Harry's steady breathing, Louis succumbs to his exhaustion and falls asleep.

☼

To his sincere surprise, Louis appears to be the first one awake the next day. He tiptoes over Calum and Michael, who are asleep on the floor, and carefully lets the air out of the air mattress they're sleeping on. He creeps over to the fridge and fixes himself a cup of cereal. A cup, because it's disposable, and he won't have to worry about washing the dishes later. He wanders onto the porch, where he finds a very sweaty Liam untying his running shoes.

"Morning." Louis says with a mouthful of Cheerios. "How's his shoulder?"

Liam sits back in the chair, still breathing heavily. "Just bruised. He says he never wants to surf again, but he had fun. He got some good waves."

"Mhm. Are we surfing today?" Louis asks.

"Want to?" Liam rests his head against the wall.

"Mhm." Louis says, and a bit of milk spurts out onto his chin. He laughs and wipes it off.

"Smooth. That was very smooth," Liam says.

"You shut your mouth, pretty boy," Louis snaps.

Zayn wanders out to them, sleepy and disheveled, but still as attractive as ever. He makes his way over to Liam and all but collapses in his lap, yawning like a little kitten. Liam rubs his arm with a smile that Louis categorizes as sickening and kisses Zayn's little nose.

"I'm going back to bed," Louis groans, but Zayn doesn't let him go. He grabs his wrist, and pulls him back in.

"Staaaaaaaaaay," he frowns.

"You should know how clingy he gets." Louis looks at Liam, who laughs.

"Rude, Lou," a deep voice says.

"Morning, Harry," Louis says cheerily.

"Do we get to cuddle?" Harry looks at Liam and Zayn, yawning. "They're cuddling." He looks back at Louis.

Louis laughs. "I was just going to head to the beach, Harold."

Harry frowns, flopping in the old basket chair in the corner. "Fine."

"You can come cuddle with us, Harry," Liam mumbles into Zayn's neck.

"I'll pass." Harry shakes his head. "Lou? Can I come to the beach?"

"If you get ready right now, sure." Louis takes his cereal back into the kitchen and leaves it on the counter.

Harry follows him into their room, and lies face-down on the bed while Louis changes. Louis plays on his phone while Harry pulls on swim trunks, and then they grab towels and make their way onto the porch again. The sun beats down on Louis' bare back as he and Harry walk to the beach, making him sweat before they've even reached the sand.

When they reach the sand, Louis plops his board in the sand and tosses his towel on it. Harry lays out on his towel, clearly intent on tanning. "Harry." Louis narrows his eyes at him.

"Hm?"

"You sly bastard, you've been working out." Louis looks at his arms, more muscular than he's ever seen them.

Harry laughs. "I have been working out, actually."

"I haven't." Louis snorts.

"Still look good to me." Harry winks at him.

"Sand castle. _Right_ _now_." Louis says after a while, standing. "Let's go."

Harry stands and follows Louis to the water's edge, where they borrow a bucket from a family of four. Louis fills it with wet sand, and then heads back to the blanket, where the constructing begins. Luckily, the bucket they borrowed is shaped like a castle already, so all Louis has to do is turn it over, and the construction is finished.

"Done?" Harry stands.

"No, no, no, of course not. Decor is needed," Louis says determinedly, getting to his feet.

Harry groans. Louis hears Niall yell behind them and looks back just in time to see Niall's foot crash into his beloved sand castle. Niall lands in the sand on his butt, laughing maniacally. Louis makes a sound like a dying animal and falls to his knees, and all the while Harry watches, laughing. Zayn, Liam, Calum, Michael, Gemma, Luke, and Ashton are close behind Niall.

The beach gets progressively more crowded throughout the day, each new group of people pushing just a bit closer to their group. They decide to head back around four, to shower, nap, and regroup for dinner later.

Louis makes sure to be the first in the shower, practically shoving Michael out of his way to ensure hot water. When he's done, he emerges from the steamy bathroom with a towel around his waist and shakes out his wet hair right next to Ashton and Luke.

"Thanks, Louis." Ashton hits his shoulder.

Louis gives them a shit-eating grin and heads into his room to change. Harry's reading in there, but he lays his book over his face when Louis comes in. "Is that so I can change or so you can attempt to resist looking at me?" Louis asks.

Harry laughs from under his book. "Gemma and Luke and all them are going to the boardwalk soon. Gems said they're staying out."

"And?" Louis raises his eyebrows as he pulls on trackies.

Harry gives him an evil look over his book. "Jenga."

"Sexual Jenga?" Louis grins.

"Sexual Jenga." Harry repeats.

Once Gemma, Ashton, Calum, Luke, and Michael leave, Louis grabs the Jenga from the van and brings it upstairs to set up. After setting up five chairs in a circle at the center of the room, he lines up five shot glasses on the table and then sets up the Jenga tower. Harry watches him, trying to make him accidentally knock it down. He breathes down his neck, jabs him in the side, and does anything he can to make Louis mess it up. Louis does it perfectly though, ignoring Harry and smacking the back of his head when he's done.

"Can't shake this," Louis smirks.

Harry laughs as Louis starts dancing, swiveling his hips along to the music Zayn just started. All five of them knock back a few shots, and then the real game begins. See, Louis and his friends don't play regular Jenga. They play Sexual Drinking Jenga. A few years ago, Louis, Niall, and Zayn wrote a bunch of sexual and daring tasks on each block. A few of Louis' favorites are 'grab the person to the left’s ass,' 'streak around the block,' and 'see how long you can go without talking.’

Niall goes first, taking an easy block and reading the task Louis and Zayn wrote on it all those years ago.

"You're kidding," Niall says in disbelief.

"It must be done, Niall. You signed the contract." Louis nods his head at Niall.

Niall's jaw drops. "I did no such thing!" 

"What's it say?!" Zayn yells.

"’Give lap dance to music,’" Niall says sheepishly.

"Oh!" Liam laughs.

"I am not giving anyone a lapdance to Talk Dirty. No thank you." Niall shakes his head.

"Which direction is it in?" Harry asks.

"Left." Niall flips over the block. He looks over to his left, at Zayn. Zayn's brown eyes widen, and he laughs.

Zayn winks at him. "Give it to me, blondie." 

"You are not filming this." Niall points to Harry as he goes to straddle Zayn's lap.

"What kind of - _hic_! - friend would I be if I didn't film my friend giving my other friend a lap dance?" Harry laughs, hitting record.

"Do it, Ni." Liam says.

"I hate all of you."

Niall grinds down into Zayn's lap, running his hands through Zayn's dark hair. Zayn laughs, putting his hands on Niall's hips. The sax solo starts up, and Niall really gets into it. He slides his hands down Zayn's chest, trying to keep a smile off his face. When the song ends, Niall goes back to his chair, panting.

"Being a slut is hard," Niall breathes. The boys laugh.

"Never given a lapdance before?" Harry asks.

"Are you questioning my sexual adventures?" Niall points at Harry accusingly. Harry laughs, throwing his head back.

"My turn." Harry sticks his tongue out. He pulls out a block carefully, reads it, and laughs.

"What's it say?" Niall asks.

"’Lose your shirt for the rest of the game.’" Harry grins. "Alrighty then."

He pulls off his black T-shirt, and Louis' mouth waters. He had forgotten how absolutely ripped Harry is. His V-line is sinful; it's not fair to Louis to have to sit there and watch that and Harry’s abs ripple when he laughs.

"Your turn, Lou," Harry says, pulling Louis out of his daze.

"Right." Louis pulls a block out and reads it. "’Sex position.’" He laughs. "’Person to your right.’" He looks over at Liam. "Top or bottom, baby?" Liam laughs.

Liam grins. "Top, what position?" 

" _Surfbort_. Let's go, Payne." Louis winks.

Liam laughs and lies flat on his back on the tile floor. Louis straddles his groin and grinds down, bracing his hands on Liam's muscular chest. Louis licks his lips seductively at Liam, running his hands through the younger boy's hair. He swivels his hips in a circle, holding back a laugh. To go the extra mile, he makes the best fake O-face he can, and lets out a high-pitched moan. The boys lose it, and he climbs off Liam. They go back to their seats, laughing.

"Get on my level, biiiiitch!" Louis knocks back another shot. "I'm absolutely kidding," he says. Harry laughs.

"Liam, you're up," Niall says. Liam takes out a block.

"’Body shot from the sexiest person in the room.’" He laughs. "Do I have to do it out of his ass cheeks?" Liam raises an eyebrow, looking over at Zayn. Louis erupts in laughter.

"Do it, do it, please," Louis' eyes are watering, he's laughing so hard.

"This is demeaning," Zayn grumbles as Liam grabs an empty shot glass.

"It must be done." Harry laughs.

Liam guides Zayn to the center of the room, where he lays on his back to prepare for the body shot. He pulls Zayn's T-shirt up, and puts straight tequila into his bellybutton, then leans down, laughing. Liam sucks the liquor off Zayn, then presses a kiss to Zayn's tummy and helps him up while the boys erupt in laughter. Liam and Zayn return to their seats triumphantly.

"Man of the year, right there." Harry laughs.

"You're up, Zayn," Louis says, wiping away tears.

"Right." Zayn slides a block out of the growing tower. "’Smack some booty.’" He laughs. "Okay... best ass in the - wait." He looks over at Louis.

Louis winks at him. "I've been a bad, bad boy." 

"Jesus fucking Christ," Harry laughs.

"Bend over," Zayn giggles, walking over to Louis.

Louis stands and puts his hands on his chair, shaking his ass in the air. Louis knows he has an exquisite ass - so he wants to tease Harry a bit. Zayn smacks his ass, and Louis can actually feel it jiggle as his hand makes contact with skin.

"Mm. Niall, it's your turn, is it not?" Louis sits back in his chair.

"I - yeah. Jesus, Lou. Nice ass." Niall says in disbelief. Louis winks. He looks over at Harry, who seems to be in shock. He grins as Niall carefully pulls another block out of the tower.

"Two shots. I can do that." Niall shrugs, knocking back the shots.

"My tuuurn," Harry grins. He uses one long finger to push a block out of the tower. It falls onto the wooden table with a clatter. Harry reads it, and laughs. "I've gotta give the person to my left a hickey." He looks over at Louis. 

Louis blushes. "Uh, alright then. Bring it ooon." He grins.

Louis can hardly breathe. He hears Harry ask if he should do it on his hip or his neck, and then vaguely hears himself mumble “neck.” He doesn't need Harry seeing how 'excited' he is. Harry straddles his lap, one hand threading its fingers through Louis' sweaty hair, the other cupping his cheek. Louis feels his lips touch the spot on his jaw just below his ear, and bites his lip. He looks over at Zayn. He's clearly holding in a laugh; his face is red, and one lip is clenched between his teeth. Louis fights the urge to giggle himself. However, all urge to laugh is expelled as Harry begins sucking and biting at the spot on his neck. Louis closes his eyes, feeling Harry's tongue run over his neck.

Louis almost moans when Harry really starts sucking. _Hard_. God, it feels like he's being branded or something. All too soon, Harry's pulling away with one last affectionate nip to Louis' neck. Louis giggles, and then all five of them burst out laughing.

"Okay, okay. Me," Louis giggles, taking a block out of the tower and placing it on top. "Truth or Dare from the person on your left. Bring it on, Harold."

"Okaaaaay. Truth or dare?" Harry asks.

"Truth." Sexual Drinking Jenga is all dares, so.

"Neymar or Ronaldo?" Harry asks.

Louis narrows his eyes, thinking. "Neymar. He's hotter." Niall cackles.

"Li, you're up," Zayn says. Liam pulls a block out of the tower.

"Kiss the person with the lightest hair in the room." Liam reads. Zayn frowns.

"My hair is brown, thank you very much." Niall crosses his arms.

"Ni, even if it wasn't dyed, you'd still have the lightest hair." Harry says.

"No! It's Louis." Niall pouts.

"It probably is me." Louis giggles.

"It's Niall." Liam laughs.

"Oh, come on! I already gave Zayn a lap dance, what more can a straight boy do?!" Niall whines.

"It doesn't have to be long. Just a peck." Zayn says.

Niall groans as Liam comes over and plants a sloppy, drunk kiss on his lips. Liam laughs as Niall wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. He sits, and Zayn pulls out a block.

"Smother one food of your choice in Jack Daniels and eat it." Zayn groans. "Oh, God. Can I do it with the pizza?" He asks.

"If you wish, my good man," Louis says regally.

Zayn nods. "I do." 

"Neil, it's your turn," Harry says. Niall pulls out a block.

"Hell yeah, skip a turn." Niall grins.

"Meeee."

Harry goes to grab a block, but, in his drunkenness, knocks down the whole tower by accident. The boys burst into laughter; Louis leans back, shaking, as his feet rise in the air. Niall falls out of his chair and ends up curled into a ball on the floor.

"So, uh... What happens when you knock the whole thing over?" Harry asks slowly. Louis looks over at Zayn with an evil smile.

"You strip."

"I - what?!" Harry asks quickly.

"He made it up!" Zayn points to Louis, who shrugs.

"Get it aaaaaall off, Styles." He wiggles his eyebrows at Harry.

"Do I have to walk like this to get pizza?" Harry asks, an eyebrow raised.

Zayn raises his eyebrows back at him. "Clothed, yes. But you should not be wearing clothes at the moment." 

Harry groans and toes off his white Converse; Louis notices he's not wearing socks. He adds that to the list of things he'll have to make fun of Harry for (even though Louis himself hardly ever wears socks). Louis finds his mouth watering for the second time that night as Harry pulls his shorts down and they pool around his feet. He's left wearing tight black boxers, and Louis can clearly see the outline of his dick through the thin fabric. Harry catches Louis staring at him and smirks as he sticks his thumbs into his waistband. Louis knows it must be his drunk, blurred vision - it can't actually be happening - but he thinks he sees Harry's cock... getting hard? No way. Harry pulls his boxers off at a teasingly slow rate, and Louis gapes as he sees a sinful V-line peeking out.

After what seems like ages, Harry pulls his boxers all the way off. Harry's cock is beautiful - thick, and long, with a deliciously plump vein on the underside. Louis wasn't seeing things; Harry is definitely getting hard.

"Alright, how bout you get those back on?!" Zayn says quickly.

"Good - er, good plan." Harry blushes.

He pulls his clothes back on, and the boys head to 3 Brothers for their pizza. The cool air helps to sober them up a bit, but they're still giggly and slurring when they get the pizza. They get half plain, half sausage, just for Liam. The box is actually the size of a carpet. Liam and Niall carry it between them, trying not to drop it. Harry's shoulder bumps against Louis' as they walk, and Louis bites his lip. He doesn't know if he ever wants to see Harry in clothes again. He keeps thinking of Harry's pretty thighs, his gorgeous cock.

"What?" Harry asks.

"Hm?" Louis looks up.

"Why're you staring off like that?" Harry laughs.

"Was I? Oh." Louis shrugs. Harry puts an arm around his shoulders.

"You're so funny, Lou," Harry says slowly.

"Time to be quiet, Haz. You're getting reckless." Louis laughs.

"I'm _getting_ hungry," Harry chuckles. "Hey! Let's have the pie now!" Harry calls. Zayn, Liam, and Niall turn. Harry points to one of the little gazebos along the boards.

"You want to eat it in there?" Louis asks. Harry nods. "The house is down the fucking street!" He laughs.

"The Hunger does not wait, Louis." Harry says, walking to the gazebo and grabbing a slice.

"Is that hunger with a capital H?" Louis asks.

"Yeah!" Harry yells, shoving a slice in his mouth.

Grabbing a slice of the sausage half, Louis sits next to Zayn on the bench. He sees Harry frown a bit, and, being the smug little fucker he is, winks at him. Harry sticks his tongue out at him. Niall drops three slices on the ground and almost pisses himself laughing, and Zayn smacks him straight across the face.

"Zayn!" Niall yells, getting up. "That was not very nice," he grumbles.

Zayn laughs. "Sorry Niall," he says, pulling Niall into an almost-sober bear hug.

"Who wants the last one?" Liam asks. He's promptly attacked by Luke, who seems to have appeared out of nowhere with his friends.

"Where the hell did you come from?" Harry asks quickly.

"We were at the Beachcomber all night. Kinda sucks there," Gemma says as she sits beside Louis on the bench.

"That's why we didn't go. We played Sexual Drinking Jenga instead," Liam says.

"And you _didn't_ invite us?" Calum asks.

"Should we _invite_ you to go home?" Louis asks. "Is that a thing?" He narrows his eyes.

"Well I'm saying yes," Michael yawns. "I'm bushed."

"I'll go with you," Liam says, standing.

Louis nods and stands with them. Gradually, all of their group stands, and they head home. Niall tosses the gargantuan pizza box in one of the trash cans along the boards, after he and Louis destroy it. Louis and Harry practically collapse into bed as soon as they reach it, into a tangled heap of sweaty limbs.

☼

"Today's long as hell and so is Wednesday, so it's gonna suck." Harry says as they pack the car. Louis groans and sits on the floor.

"I'm not driving." Louis says. "There's no way I'm driving."

"I'll drive, it's cool," Liam offers.

"That's everything in ours," Niall says, closing the trunk.

"We'll meet you in Virginia Beach, guys." They all set themselves up in the car, and Liam backs out of the driveway.

Louis drapes himself over the cushions as they start on the highway, singing along to the music. After a while, he rolls onto the floor. It's comfy down there, Louis could fall asleep easily.

"Birthday's coming up, Li," Zayn calls.

"Yeah, in August." Liam looks at them in the mirror.

"I think we should get a cake," Harry says.

"Yeah, twenty one candles," Niall nods.

"No, we have to account for Liam's mental age," Louis says. "Like thirty two."

Niall cackles from his seat to Louis' left. After a while, Louis falls asleep, and he doesn't wake up until they reach Virginia Beach. It's already late, but that doesn't stop the boys from hurrying to change into trunks for the pool they've been told of.

"Louis, look at this." Harry shakes his shoulder.

Louis stirs and wrinkles his nose. "What?" he mumbles.

"Look at this _house_ ," he says.

Louis gently pushes past Harry and looks up at the house in front of him. It's _huge_. Big and white, surrounded by all kinds of flora and plants of all kinds of colors. Each window opens up to a small balcony, each with a large potted palm plant in the corner. Louis follows a path through the flowers out back, where he passes through a gate to see a huge in ground pool, surrounded by lounge chairs and a bar by the house.

Louis can hear waves nearby, so they must be closer to the beach than last time. Harry comes by and hands Louis his duffel, and they head inside through the back. Liam and Niall are already changed and heading for the pool, and Calum is close behind them. Louis races upstairs to the only empty bedroom left, and changes into his trunks.

"Harry, you getting changed or what?" Louis calls.

"He was already in a swimsuit!" Gemma calls up the stairs.

"Are you coming in, Gemma?" Louis asks, making his way downstairs.

"I was waiting for you," Gemma deadpans.

Louis laughs, tugging on a strand of Gemma's purple hair. Gemma yelps, and she and Louis make their way to the pool, where Liam is whipping up a few fruity cocktails at the bar. Zayn is floating on a huge, mattress-like raft, Harry is posed on a lounge chair, and Luke, Cal, Michael, and Ashton are screwing around by the diving board. Right away, Louis sprints for the deep end and dives in.

"Heeeey!" Harry yells when Louis splashes him.

"Get in here!" Louis whines, reaching for Harry.

Laughing, Harry stands and sits by the edge of the pool. Louis shakes his hair out to get him wet, and he groans. After a little while, Liam brings two drinks over to them with a dramatic bow and a giggle. Louis takes the mango-looking one, and Harry takes the pink one. He takes a sip, pinky out and proper. Harry laughs.

Seven friends and six fruity drinks later, Louis, Michael, Zayn, and Niall are the last ones outside. Sprawled out on a lounge chair, Louis is on his fourth cocktail, a bit slurred and slow, and extremely ready for bed.

"I'm done." Louis slams his drink on the table beside him.

Louis' friends mumble halfhearted "goodnights” as he makes his way back into the house. Louis climbs into bed and Harry pulls him into his arms. Feeling very warm and loved, Louis falls asleep.

☼

Mornings with Harry are always all messy curls and hooded eyes. Louis begins to get up, but ends up sinking back under the sheets with Harry. Mumbling something, Harry pulls Louis against his bare chest, nuzzling into his neck.

"Morning Lou," he says, a little clearer this time.

Louis yawns. "You're doing the koala thing."

Harry's grip around his waist loosens. "Sorry."

"Well I didn't say it was bad."

For Louis, it's always been more of a challenge of _getting_ up than waking up. He can wake up easily. It's getting up and out of bed that's the hard part. He always used to be able to wake up for school, but he could never bring himself to get up without the aid of his mother's yelling.

Louis graduated college from Fordham last year, and he didn't hate college, not really, but staying in a dorm with Liam and Zayn made it hard for him to get out of bed and go to all his classes. His professors seemed to like him, though.

"Harry! Louis! Pool day!" Calum calls from downstairs.

"Mm." Louis groans and stretches out. "Time to get up."

Emerging from his cocoon filled with Harry and warmth, Louis fixes his hair and looks in the mirror. He's still wearing his trunks from last night, so he doesn't bother changing. Harry climbs out of bed and changes into different shorts, a pair of tiny yellow trunks that Louis is sure can't be legal. He'd like to take a bite out of Harry's ass.

Liam is behind the bar again, chatting up Zayn while he makes drinks. Zayn is sitting on one of the chairs, with his chin rested on his hand, looking at Liam like he's under a spell. Louis laughs as he breezes by and asks Liam to make him another mango daiquiri. Right away, Louis jumps on the huge raft that Zayn was lounging on in the pool last night, and he hardly even gets wet.

"I think I'd be in Gryffindor," Calum says from his chair. Luke laughs, swimming over to the edge of the pool to look at him.

"Nah, you'd be Ravenclaw." Luke shakes his head.

Louis rolls off the raft and into the cool water, then swims over to Luke. "Discussing Hogwarts? When I was eleven, they just thought I got my letter but I didn't, so they didn't send any more. That's why I didn't go."

"Oh, that's why?" Gemma raises an eyebrow.

"Yeah." Louis makes a face at her, and she laughs into Ashton's shoulder.

Liam brings Louis' drink over and he takes a sip, closing his eyes as the icy cocktail makes its way down his throat. When he opens his eyes, Harry is staring at him with a mischievous look in his eyes. Louis winks at him and turns away, intent on resisting Harry's silly charm.

The day passes gloriously slowly, in a drowsy blur of margaritas and laughter. Around three, everyone but Louis and Harry take a walk down to the beach. Louis decides to use this time to have the hot tub to himself.

Harry, of course, follows him in. He looks at Louis with a little smile, like he knows something Louis doesn't.

"What?" Louis raises his eyebrows.

"Hm?" Harry cocks his head and runs a hand through his wet curls.

"You're staring." He says.

"Yes." Harry nods.

"Why?"

"I think we should have the fight now," Harry says.

"The inevitable one about your forgetting lil' ol' me?" Louis raises an eyebrow

"Louis." Harry frowns. "Be serious for a second."

"Like how? How you're gonna get some boyfriend or girlfriend and I'm gonna be just an almost you left home," Louis asks.

" _Almost_? What the fuck's an _almost_?" Harry's voice raises a little.

"Oh, you know what I mean, Harry," Louis throws back.

"What? Like, we _almost_ fucked? Is that what you want, Louis?" Harry snaps.

"Jesus, no." Louis shakes his head.

"What is it then?" Harry spits. "What do you want me to do?"

"I don't fucking know!" Louis yells, sinking underwater.

"You know what I want, Louis?" Harry asks.

"Please, enlighten me."

"I want to stop fucking around and pretending this isn't happening, Louis!" Harry's voice raises to a shout. "I want _you_. I want you, all the time, every minute of every day. In the morning when your hair's all soft, in the middle of the day when your smile sometimes gets dimples, and at night when you're cuddly and soft and warm. I want you when you're at your worst, on those days when you could just lay around in bed all day, and I want you at your best, all dressed up in that _fucking_ suit -"

"Harry, stop talking," Louis mumbles. He doesn't like where this is going, but at the same time, he loves where it's going way too much.

"I've spent - _six_ _fucking_ _years_ waiting for you to open your fucking eyes, Louis!" Harry's voice cracks.

Louis rolls his eyes - Harry's always been dramatic - and takes Harry's face in his hands and presses their lips together. Louis' body becomes an earthquake. Those inconvenient sparklers in Louis' stomach have become supernovas, every time his skin comes in contact with Harry's it's like there are fireworks in Louis' veins. Louis kisses him with every ounce of pent-up desire he has been folding into his back pocket and saving for the right moment. Harry kisses Louis desperately, puts his hands on the sides of his face, pulls him into him and presses him against the wall of the hot tub at the same time.

Louis can hardly breathe. His cheeks are bright pink and this moment stretches out like sunlight, both of them feeling dangerous and excited, heartbeats racing like hoofbeats. When Harry finally pulls away, they're both breathing heavily into each other's mouths, arms wrapped around each other and pulses beating as if they're one.

" _God_ ," Harry breathes. "You're fun to kiss."

Louis laughs breathlessly. "Have another go at it, then."

Harry smiles and connects their lips, sealing in with it six years of confusion and angst. His lips are warm against Louis', and Louis can taste the strawberries that linger on his tongue from his drink.

Their friends find them like that, and all of them cheer. After six years, their friends have finally gotten together. Calum and Niall yell loud cheers at them, Gemma and Ash coo at them like they’re newborn kittens, Michael and Luke burst into fits of laughter, Zayn just smiles because he knew it would happen in the end, and Liam, well, Liam Payne drops his margarita and it shatters all over the tile. Louis and Harry separate quickly, blushing beet-red.

Niall taunts them for the rest of the day, saying he knew all along they'd get together, blah, blah, blah.

As the sun dips below the horizon, Harry and Louis share margarita-flavored kisses in the pool, dancing along to the music with their friends. Liam sends them all to bed through, promising a long day of driving tomorrow. Louis and Harry make their way to their bedroom hand in hand, and fall asleep closer than usual.

☼

Liam was right. The drive to Miami takes fucking forever.

When they finally reach their hotel - a huge, old-fashioned place called the Savoy - Liam checks them in while they wait for the bellhops to get their bags. Louis is surprised at the fanciness of the place - he'll have to give Yaser a call to thank him for covering everything later. Once everything's been checked in, an employee leads them to their rooms, which are huge two bed suites, each with a pull out couch and a large flatscreen TV.

" _Shit_ ," Niall says, flopping on a couch. "Cal, you can have the bed, 'm fine with the couch."

Calum pumps his fist in the air and leaves his bag on the bed furthest from the window. "I'm buying you a beer as thanks down by the pool."

"Speaking of which," Louis wiggles out of Harry's arms and looks out the window. "Look at this fucking pool. There's two."

Around six large, circular chairs are arranged in a circle by the pool closest to Louis' room, but lounge chairs line each pool. The farther pool has a bench of sorts in the middle, where a few adults are drinking cocktails in the evening sunlight. Louis, Harry, Calum, and Niall get changed and head for the pool, where an employee hands them each a fluffy towel and complimentary sparkling water. Louis claims a circle chair right away, and Harry cuddles with him in it for a while until they decide it's too hot, and launch themselves into the pool.

A few minutes later, Liam, Zayn, and Luke come down, and none of them are prepared for the surprise chicken fight Harry and Louis engage as soon as they get into the water. Clambering onto Niall's shoulders, Calum and he and Louis begin a slapfight, while Zayn and Liam wait for Luke's partner to get in (for a fair fight). Michael comes down just seconds later, and sees what they're doing right away, and crouches down for Luke to get on his shoulders.

The fight gets vicious when Ashton and Gemma get down there, a swinging mess of arms and splashing from the bottom tiers. In the end, Luke reigns supreme, the only one to remain on his partner's shoulders the entire game. Instead of the beer he promised, Louis shoves ice down Luke's pants and runs away, delighting in the way he yelps and squirms.

He turns around, and is caught by surprise when Harry pulls him into his chest, chapped lips meeting Louis'. Louis melts into him, eyes closing. Harry pulls away with a laugh. "Don't want to be a public indecency, do we."

Louis rolls his eyes and follows Harry to the beach. It's empty, except for a few remaining beachgoers watching the sunset as it begins. "Last night before we go home," he says.

Harry pulls Louis a little closer and smiles. "I'm glad we figured this out before the trip ended." He presses a kiss to Louis' forehead.

"Me too," Louis says quietly.

When the sun goes down, Louis and his friends wash up and explore South Beach, intent on finding a cool place for dinner. As soon as they get on the street, Louis can already tell he likes South Beach a lot more when the sun goes down. Brightly colored lights illuminate every building, and there's a bar on every corner. Louis and his friends settle on a bar with a Spanish name that Louis can't read, and sit at a table outside.

"It's really nice here." Harry says, looking around.

"Should've gone to college here." Louis says without looking up.

"Are the flight tickets cheaper?" Harry asks.

"Obviously." Louis rolls his eyes.

"We can have Mr. Malik pay for your tickets," Harry says with a giggle.

"Zayn's dad isn't a wish-granting factory, Harry," Louis laughs.

"What're we saying about ol' Yaser?" Zayn asks.

"Harry wants him to buy my plane tickets to see him in California," Louis says pointedly, and Zayn laughs.

Zayn looks back at his menu. "He'll do it, if you ask. He always liked you." 

"See? It'll work. Easy." Harry laces his fingers with Louis' and rests their hands on his thigh.

When they're finished eating, the group decides to lay out on the now empty lounge chairs and look at the stars.

"What was everyone's favorite part?" Zayn asks.

"Mine was when Harry fell down the stairs in Massachusetts." Michael breaks into a fit of laughter.

"I was drunk!" Harry yells indignantly.

"Mine favorite part was in the car when Lou said Liam was mentally thirty-two," Zayn laughs, and Louis does a double fist in the air.

"Mine was when Zayn knocked the shirts over in that surf shop," Niall says with a cackle. Zayn flushes.

"I liked when Luke decided he was gonna eat all twelve bananas in a night and threw up on his own shoes," Gemma says, and a hysterical laugh comes from Luke.

"The best by far was when Ashton nearly cracked his head open on the railing," Luke says.

"Mine was the beach days," Louis says simply.

"Mine was Zayn," Calum says. "Just Zayn." He shrugs, and Zayn and Louis laugh hysterically.

"Mine was those daiquiris Liam made in Virginia." Harry sighs happily, kissing Louis' cheek.

"Liam?"

"Uh, probably surfing all the time," he says.

"You're last, Ashton," Zayn says.

Ashton frowns like he's thinking hard. "I think just being with everyone was good enough for me." Everyone coos at him, and Ash sinks into his chair, blushing beet red.

After they retell a few stories, the group decides to get to bed early, as they've got a plane to catch tomorrow. Louis is the little spoon again, but he's content with Harry nosing through the fine hairs at the nape of his neck and mumbling stupid jokes into his skin, with each moment that passes bringing them closer to home.

(Louis decides to go to grad school in California with Harry, where he studies to become a teacher.)

**Author's Note:**

> since the time i wrote this a few months ago, i have since then realized that this is my favorite out of all the fics i've written, and i hope you've enjoyed it as much as i did :) xx. 
> 
> also, if you want, you can come see me on [tumblr](http://harryindallas.tumblr.com/) !


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